Wind-driven fire at Baltimore wood waste yard shuts down I-83, light rail

Dec. 6 (UPI) -- A wind-driven fire at a Baltimore wood waste yard has raged for over 14 hours and is expected to continue to burn for some time Friday.

No injuries have been reported as flames shot dozens of feet into the air, shutting down southbound lanes of I-83 between Northern Parkway and Druid Park Lake Drive, but northbound lanes were reopened at about 7:45 a.m. Friday.

Light rail was disrupted between North Avenue to Falls Road, with shuttle buses used to replace it, and the Maryland Zoo was closed to the public Friday.

"BCFD crews continue to contain the exterior fire at Coldspring. Progress has been made in containing the blaze. NB83 is open and SB 83 will be open. There is no current scheduled press update on scene and updates will be provided as they are made available via social media until further notice," the Baltimore Fire Department said on X Friday morning.

Baltimore Fire Chief James Wallace said the fire began at Camp Small along Coldspring Lane around 5:15 p.m. EST Thursday in an outdoor storage area holding logs and trees stacked 30 feet high.

"This fire quickly spread," Wallace said. "It was wind-driven. It was a very challenging fire and it remains a very challenging fire."

Camp Small is used for wood recycling and is run by the city.

The big flames died down by 6 a.m. Friday but thick smoke continued to rise from the scene as firefighters continued applying water.

A fireworks display at the Washington Monument holiday lighting ceremony was canceled.

Baltimore Comptroller Bill Henry said the city was fighting three "particularly bad" wind-driven fires and that forced the fireworks to be called off.